Food and drink · Small-town market · Iowa
Pizza places in the Fort Dodge, IA area
How the Fort Dodge, IA area compares with other small-town markets and the U.S. for pizza places: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 50 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #259 of 520 scored small-town markets
#6 of 14 scored small-town markets based in Iowa
- Listings
- 17
- 17 chain locations (100%)
- Official establishments
- 22
- All limited-service restaurants · −4.3% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $54.4M
- On food away from home · $3,540 a household
- Spending per listing
- $3.2M
- 37% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 11.1
- 39% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 36,838
- −0.4% since 2020
See the pizza places around any address in the Fort Dodge area
The site report maps the pizza places on map listings near the address, by name and distance, and sizes the households and spending around it. Or open the report at the center of the Fort Dodge area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardSurvey estimates 2020–2024 · population estimates 2025 · official business counts 2023 · map listings September 2026 · Data credits · How we measure
What this means
At $3,540 per household (13% below the U.S. average), households in the Fort Dodge area spend about $54.4M a year on food away from home. Spread across 17 pizza places, that is $3.2M per pizza place, 37% below the U.S. figure of $5.1M. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only pizza places.
The Fort Dodge area has 17 pizza places on map listings as of September 2026. All of them are chain locations, against 58% across the U.S. That is 11.1 per 10,000 households, 39% above the U.S. rate of 8.0.
The official count of businesses with payroll classed as limited-service restaurants in the Fort Dodge area was 22 in 2023, down 4.3% from 2019. That is one for every 699 households, against one for every 478 across the U.S. That count covers all limited-service restaurants (fast food and sandwich shops included), not only pizza places. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $516K has gone to businesses classed as limited-service restaurants in the Fort Dodge area.
Population estimates show the Fort Dodge area declined 0.4% from 2020 to 2025, against +3.1% for the U.S. The Groundwork market score for pizza places in the Fort Dodge area is 50 (upper middle), #259 of 520 scored small-town markets and #6 of 14 scored small-town markets based in Iowa.
How the Fort Dodge area compares
The same measures for Iowa and the whole U.S. Spending per listing divides a year of household spending on all food away from home by the pizza places counted, so it measures the demand for each competitor, not any business’s revenue. Households per establishment does the same with the official count.
| Measure | Fort Dodge area | Iowa | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 11.1 | 11.7 | 8.0 |
| Spending per listing | $3.2M | $3.3M | $5.1M |
| Households per official establishment (all limited-service restaurants) | 699 | 628 | 478 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | −4.3% | −0.9% | +6.1% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −0.4% | +1.5% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $3,540 | $3,880 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $68,975 | $75,059 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 50 | 39 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 22All limited-service restaurants · −4.3% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 581
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $10.2M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 0All limited-service restaurants with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 1717 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 11The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 1
- Amount
- $516K
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as limited-service restaurants in the Fort Dodge area, through June 2026, placed by the borrower’s ZIP code. Official establishments are businesses with payroll; the official counts leave out places with fewer than 3. These official figures cover all limited-service restaurants, not only pizza places.
Population and households in the Fort Dodge area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 36,838−0.4% since 2020
- Households
- 15,375
- Median age
- 39.6
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 70%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 716 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 52
- Median household income
- $68,975+45.3% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $83,997
- Median home value
- $153,800
- Jobs located here
- 17,395
- Daytime population
- 38,670Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Fort Dodge area?
These figures cover the whole small-town market. A site report draws rings around one address and counts what’s inside them: households, spending, jobs, and the pizza places on map listings by name and distance.
Or open the report at the center of the Fort Dodge area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardPizza across Iowa
Every Iowa market ranked →The highest-scoring small-town markets in Iowa for pizza places, numbered among those based in Iowa, with the Fort Dodge area marked.
Top small-town markets in Iowa
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Le Mars, IA | 57 | 12 | 11.6 | $3.4M | 0.0% | #182 of 520 |
| 2Marshalltown, IA | 55 | 17 | 11.0 | $3.3M | −0.5% | #214 of 520 |
| 3Pella, IA | 53 | 15 | 11.3 | $3.5M | +2.3% | #228 of 520 |
| 4Storm Lake, IA | 52 | 10 | 13.3 | $2.9M | −1.7% | #237 of 520 |
| 5Carroll, IA | 51 | 8 | 9.1 | $4.1M | −2.0% | #243 of 520 |
| 6Fort Dodge, IA | 50 | 17 | 11.1 | $3.2M | −0.4% | #259 of 520 |
| 7Mason City, IA | 47 | 24 | 10.6 | $3.5M | −1.5% | #291 of 520 |
| 8Clinton, IA | 43 | 23 | 11.8 | $3.1M | −0.9% | #325 of 520 |
| 9Oskaloosa, IA | 41 | 14 | 16.0 | $2.3M | −1.2% | #352 of 520 |
| 10Fort Madison, IA | 38 | 19 | 13.3 | $2.6M | −3.6% | #386 of 520 |
Other business types in the Fort Dodge area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
Groceries and convenience
Auto
Beauty and personal care
Fitness and classes
Health care
Child care
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many pizza places are in the Fort Dodge, IA area?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 17 pizza places in the Fort Dodge area. 17 of them (100%) are chain locations. The listings count pizza restaurants. Official counts show 22 businesses with payroll classed as limited-service restaurants in 2023, down 4.3% from 2019. The official count takes in all limited-service restaurants, not only pizza places: fast food and sandwich shops are counted too.
How much do households in the Fort Dodge, IA area spend on food away from home?
About $54.4M a year, or $3,540 per household. That is 13% below the U.S. average (an index of 87, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 17 pizza places on map listings, it comes to $3.2M per pizza place. That spending covers all food away from home, which pizza places share with other businesses in the trade. It is estimated from the incomes of the 15,375 households in the Fort Dodge area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Fort Dodge, IA area compare with the U.S. for pizza places?
The Fort Dodge area has 11.1 pizza places per 10,000 households, 39% above the U.S. rate of 8.0. Spending per pizza place is $3.2M, 37% below the U.S. figure of $5.1M. At the U.S. ratio of pizza places to household spending, the Fort Dodge area would have about 11, against 17 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 699 households, against one for every 478 across the U.S. The official count fell 4.3% from 2019 to 2023, against +6.1% for the U.S.
How fast is the Fort Dodge, IA area growing?
Population estimates put the Fort Dodge area at 36,838 people in 2025, down 0.4% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 15,375 households. Median household income in the Fort Dodge area is $68,975, 15% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 45.3%, before inflation.
What is the Groundwork market score?
The Groundwork market score runs from 0 to 100 and compares a market with others of its kind for one business type: states with states, metro areas with metro areas, small-town markets and counties with their own. A small-town market is a town of 10,000 to 50,000 people and the county or counties tied to it by commuting. It weighs household spending per competitor (35%), households per business with payroll (25%), population growth (20%) and spending power (20%), each ranked against those peers. A higher score means that, taken together, the market has more household spending and more households for each business already there, faster population growth and more spending per household than similar markets. It describes a market, not any one site or deal. The Fort Dodge area scores 50 for pizza places (upper middle), #259 of 520 scored small-town markets.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Fort Dodge area. It maps the pizza places on map listings near the site and sizes the households and spending within the distance you choose. New accounts get 10 actions over 3 days, no card.
How the score works · Top markets for pizza places · All 56 business types in the Fort Dodge area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Fort Dodge area?
A site report maps the competitors on map listings near an address and sizes the households and spending around it.
The button opens the report at the center of the Fort Dodge area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
This product uses the Census Bureau Data API but is not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau.
Figures are estimates for research only. Not investment or real estate advice.